Eastern

Goodyear Tire & Rubber may be laying off at least 30 to 40 of its 2,500 workers at its Fayetteville tire-manufacturing plant, according to source at the company. Goodyear has not confirmed the job cuts.

The town of Belhaven reached an agreement with Vidant Health that will allow the Greenville-based health system to begin construction of a $4.2 million, 24-hour clinic that will serve Hyde and Beaufort counties. The town and the NAACP are still awaiting a decision from a federal complaint they filed over Vidant's decision last year to close Vidant Pungo Hospital.

The Interior Department proposed offering one lease for drilling for oil or natural gas off the coast of the Carolinas, Georgia or Virginia in 2021. The site would be at least 50 miles from the coast, and drilling would begin only after environmental studies are completed. Coastal towns that rely on tourism dollars have passed resolutions opposing the practice. Also: Obama fires first in coming 'battle royal' over Atlantic drilling

Global Nuclear Fuel, the GE-led joint venture of Hitachi and Toshiba, received a contract worth more than $100 million to provide fuel for a nuclear station in Nebraska through 2034. The fuel will be manufactured at GNF's Castle Hayne campus near Wilmington.

Wilmington-based nCino was the only North Carolina business to make Forbes' recent list of America's Most Promising Companies. nCino ranked 93rd on the list, which includes private companies generating less than $300 million annually and considers revenue growth, employee growth, capital raised and management, among other factors.

Trustees provided few details regarding Cape Fear Community College President Ted Spring's abrupt resignation on Thursday, while county commissioners expressed surprise and concern over Spring's departure.

Through a partnership with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps, Duke Energy will build a 13-megawatt solar project at Camp Lejeune. The 80-acre project could provide enough power for about 3,000 homes.

Ted Spring resigned as president of Cape Fear Community College after a little more than two years in the position. Amanda Lee, vice president for instructional services, will become interim president.

Donald Porter, executive director of the Raeford-Hoke Economic Development Commission, calls Hoke County a "poultry-friendly community" and says his phone has been ringing off the hook from residents wanting to know if the county will try to lure Mississippi-based Sanderson Farms. Hoke County has lost hundreds of jobs over the last two years as House of Raeford closed its local turkey plants ("Turkey trot," January).

Vertex Rail Technologies CEO Don Croteau said the company will begin hiring production workers in February and will build its first sample rail car in March or April. Vertex plans to invest $60 million and hire 1,300 people at the former Terex plant in Wilmington. Croteau says potential revenues could total $600 million to $800 million.

Construction is almost complete at Cape Fear Valley Health's Hoke County hospital, which could open its doors in February or March. The 41-bed hospital is less than 3 miles from FirstHealth of the Carolinas' eight-bed hospital that opened in October 2013.

Cumberland County commissioners approved a public hearing for a Sanderson Farms chicken-processing plant that could create 1,000 jobs, though the Mississippi-based company says it is no longer interested in building a plant there.

Cumberland County commissioners may vote for a third time Tuesday on holding a public hearing for incentives for a proposed Sanderson Farms chicken plant that would create 1,000 jobs. Commissioner Charles Evans, the swing vote in the commission's 4-3 vote that defeated the proposal, says he has changed his mind.

Fox Television Group said it will move production of "Sleepy Hollow" to Atlanta if the series is renewed. The TV drama filmed its first two seasons in Wilmington, but the state legislature replaced the state's film incentive program with a new grant program for 2015 that caps the amount of money a production can receive at $5 million.

An advocacy group that opposes offshore drilling for oil says wind-energy development would create 82,000 jobs in the Carolinas, while oil drilling would create only about 36,000 jobs. In a report released Wednesday, Oceana says wind energy along the Atlantic coast could produce twice the energy of drilling for oil.

The Craven 100 Alliance, a public-private economic-development partnership established in 2014, introduced a new logo and said it has begun forming membership and fundraising committees. The group hopes to raise $1.5 million in private funding to help recruit new business to the area.